Governor Mike Braun of Indiana recently issued an Executive Order in July of 2026 suspending the State's Supplier Diversity Program, citing an opinion from State Attorney General Todd Rokita that the Minority and Women's Business Enterprise-related components of the State's Diversity Business Enterprises Program, which includes the Indiana Department of Administration's (IDOA) Supplier Diversity Program, are unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment.
The executive order directs IDOA to administer existing state contracts as before but to "immediately" update procurement procedures to remove references to the Supplier Diversity Program and its provisions. The order further requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to begin the implementation of a new Indiana Small Business Program which will certify small businesses and "include eligible Indiana small business prime and subcontractors in the evaluation of requests for proposals for the procurement of goods and services", as well as setting small business participation goals in state contracting.
A legal analysis from the JD Supra publication stated that because "the statutes establishing Indiana's Supplier Diversity Program have not been declared unconstitutional by any state or federal court, nor have they been repealed or amended by the Indiana General Assembly", the executive order will likely be subject to legal challenges.
Read the press release from Governor Braun's office at https://events.in.gov/event/governor-braun-ends-race-and-sex-based-contracting-preferences-announces-merit-based-approach-to-state-procurement.
Read the executive order at https://www.in.gov/gov/files/EO-26-17.pdf.
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